Valve lifter



July 19. 1927.

H. I. JORDAN VALVE LIFTER Filed Sept. 19, 1925 Patented July 19, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HUGH I. JORDAN, or STAUNTON, vraemm.

VALVE LIFTER.

Application-filed. September 19, 1925. Serial 1:10. 57320. I

The present invention relates to valve lifting devices for the purposeofcompressing the seating springs of poppet valves of engines to enablethe readyremoval of the valves, and is more particularly an improvementin my lifter disclosed in my Patent No. 1,497,856.

It is the object of the present invention to improve the form of thelatch device of the valve lift-er in; such a manner as to reduce itscost and to render it more durable and easier to, manipulate' lViththese and other objects in view, the. invention resides in the sundrydetails ofconstrnction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafterdescribed, and falling-within the scope of, the appended claims Inthis.specification and the annexed,-

drawings, the invention is disclosed in the form in which it isconsidered to be the best, but the invention is not limited to such formand method because it is capable of being embodied in other forms andbeing performed in a different manner; and it is to be understood thatby and in the claims following the description herein, it is intended tocover the invention it may embody within the scope thereof.

In the drawings which show the preferred embodiment of the invention asat present employed Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the tool embodyingthe invention; and I Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the tool, the fulllines showingthe position of the parts when the tool. is applied and thedotted lines showing their position when the valve spring has beencompressed.

Referring particularly to the drawings, the member of the tool which isengaged with the top of the valve head which forms the support uponwhich the movable spring compressing member moves comprises a shank 10that may be a flat metal bar which i at the valve engaging end ispointed to engage the usual hole in the top of the head, and at theother end is provided with a handle 11 for the comfortable engagement,say the left hand of the workman to place and hold the tool in position.The spring engaging member 12 is substantially C- shaped so'that withits lower spring washer engaging end thrust beneath such washer it willclear the manifold, and near its upper end is pivotally connected withahand lever 13 which at one end by a pivot It is fulcrumed on the support10 and at its other end has a hand-grip 15 to enabletheworl'rmancomfortably to press upward on the lever, and thereby move upward thespring washer engaging lower end of the member 12. Preferably, themember'12 is made of two similar fl at metal bars, which lie one againstthe other throughout their extent, except atthe lower end of the memberwhere they diverge into a V-shape so that they may straddle the springwasher and each fork or arm of the V' has an inturned flange 16 to catchunderneath said washer. At the points of divergence of the forks orarmsis. a bolt 17 by which to adjust the distance between the arms to suitwashers ofdifferent diame ter, normally the :forks tending to springapart from the natural 'spring of the bars that form the member 12; Atthe point of connection of the operating lever 13 with the n1ember12thelatter passes between. the two partsthat form the member 12'so that theconnection, between the lever and the member 12 is a sin le link, andnot a pair of links which wou (1 add to the cost and weight of the tool.a i

From the pivot 18 which connects the lever 13 and member 12, the latteris extended up ward and the extremity thereof'is connected by a pivot 19to one end of the link 20, the other end being connected by a pivot 26to support 10. Thus, the support 10 and the member 12 are so Connectedtogether that they are readily maintained in relative position, and theconvenience of handling the tool is promoted. There is but a single link20 in the interest of reducing metal andthus saving cost and weight.

The above recited construction is substantially identical with thatshown in my patent above referred to, and forms no part of the presentinvention except in combination with it In order that the parts may belocked in adjusted position, when compressing the spring S (Fig. 2), sothat the hands of the workman may be free, a rack bar 21 is providedwhich has its lower end slightly curved or off-set, as indicated at a,with the extremity of the offset end a pivoting on thepivot 14. .A stud22 is provided on the link 20 at a point adjacent its pivoted end 19 tobe engaged by the tooth portion of the rack 21. The upper end of therack bar Z) extends upwardly to a point opposite and adjacent the handle11 so that the hand of the operator grasping the handle 11 may readilyrelease the rack from the stud 22. The rack may be, and is preferably,normally held in engagement with the stud 22 by a spring 23, which inthe present disclosure is shown as coiled about one end 0 of the pivot14 and having its opposite ends formed with hooked arms 24 which engage,respectively, about opposing edges of the shank l0 and the rack 21.

The rack engaging stud 22 may be one end of a loop 25 that confines therack in position, while allowing it enough freedom to swing into and outof engagement with the stud 22, and in order that the rack 21 may bekept from wobbling on its pivot, the link 20 is off-set, as at (Z.

By this arrangement and construction of the latch mechanism, it is foundthat finer adjustment between the valve engaging portions 12 and 7 ofthe device can be obtained, and that bydisposing the rack engaging stud-22 adjacent the pivot 19 of the link 20 there is less strain on theteeth of the rack and that it is not necessary to case harden thelatter, thereby providing a more durable structure, and one susceptibleto greater strain. Furthermore, in the present arrangement of the latch,the wear on the teeth, due to strain, is in the notches or shouldersbetween the teeth, instead of on the edge of the teeth as in the form ofdevice shown in my prior patent mentioned above.

What is claimed is:

1. In a valve litter, a support member adapted to engage the head of avalve, in the form of a bar, a spring compressing member in the form ofa curved bar, a lever pivotally connected with both of said membershaving an upward extension from the pivotal connection 01 the springcompressing member therewith, a link between such extension and saidsupport member forming a pivotal connection between them, and a latchdevice for maintaining the valve-engaging and the spring-compressingmember in adjusting position, comprising a lever arm extending betweensaid support member and said extension of the spring-compress ingmember, and crossing said link and having a free end above the link,said lever arm being provided with teeth on its side nearer the pivotalconnection between the link and said extension, and a projection on thelink with which said teeth may engage.

2. In a valve lifter, a support member adapted to engage the head of avalve, in the form of a bar, a spring compressing member in the form ofa curved bar, a lever pivotally connected with both of said membershaving an upward extension from the pivotal connection of thespring-compressing member therewith, a link between such extension andsaid support member forming a pivotal connection between them, and alatch device for maintaining the valveengaging and thespring-compressing member in adjusting position, comprising a leverextending between said support member and said extension of thespring-compressing member, and crossing said link and having a free endabove the link, said lever arm being provided with teeth on its sidenearer the pivotal connection between the link and said extension, and aprojection on the link with which said teeth may engage, said lever armbeing pivoted on the same pivot which connects the support member andthe spring-compressing member.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aliix my signature.

HUGH I. JORDAN.

